security.txt files

Similar to robots.txt and humans.txt is a recent addition of a security.txt file. This is currently a draft proposal to provide a standardized way to define security policies for researchers. This is useful for bug bounty and disclosure programs. Government agencies were tasked to add these back in 2019, but COVID-19 likely delayed implementation and rollout.

This is usually applied in the root of a website at /.well-known/security.txt, but can also be immediately in the root at /security.txt. Personally, I put mine in /.well-known/ and put a redirect at the root to simplify maintenance.

For additional security, you can optionally sign the policy with PGP.

Details:

I did some searching around the web and found some examples (linked below):

File in the root path:

File in the preferred /.well-known path:

Some PGP signed examples:

Questionable, though as the files are meant to be read by humans, this would meet the most simple use case:

Java Dependency Vulnerability scanning with Maven victims-enforcer

One of the OWASP guidelines for secure applications is to not use components with known vulnerabilities. Unfortunately it can be a very difficult and time consuming task to keep up with these manually, automation can save you countless hours!

See https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2013-A9-Using_Components_with_Known_Vulnerabilities.

NOTE: victims-enforcer can be used in conjunction with the OWASP dependency scanner. I have only found it to be problematic in ‘tycho’ builds.


<plugin>
<groupId>org.apache.maven.plugins</groupId>
<artifactId>maven-enforcer-plugin</artifactId>
<version>1.4.1</version>
<dependencies>
<dependency>
<groupId>com.redhat.victims</groupId>
<artifactId>enforce-victims-rule</artifactId>
<version>1.3.4</version>
<type>jar</type>
</dependency>
</dependencies>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>enforce-victims-rule</id>
<goals>
<goal>enforce</goal>
</goals>
<configuration>
<rules>
<rule implementation="com.redhat.victims.VictimsRule">
<!--
Check the project's dependencies against the database using
name and version. The default mode for this is 'warning'.

Valid options are:

disabled: Rule is still run but only INFO level messages and no errors.
warning : Rule will spit out a warning message but doesn't result in a failure.
fatal : Rule will spit out an error message and fail the build.
-->
<metadata>warning</metadata>

<!--
Check the project's dependencies against the database using
the SHA-512 checksum of the artifact. The default is fatal.

Valid options are:

disabled: Rule is still run but only INFO level messages and no errors.
warning : Rule will spit out a warning message but doesn't result in a failure.
fatal : Rule will spit out an error message and fail the build.
-->
<fingerprint>fatal</fingerprint>

<!--
Disables the synchronization mechanism. By default the rule will
attempt to update the database for each build.

Valid options are:

auto : Automatically update the database entries on each build.
daily : Update the database entries once per day.
weekly: Update the database entries once per week.
offline : Disable the synchronization mechanism.
-->
<updates>daily</updates><!-- was: auto -->

</rule>
</rules>
</configuration>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>

Vulnerability database is sourced from: https://victi.ms with backing from RedHat.

REFERENCES:

OWASP Dependency Vulnerability Scanning of Java JARs with Maven

One of the OWASP guidelines for secure applications is to not use components with known vulnerabilities. Unfortunately it can be a very difficult and time consuming task to keep up with these manually, automation can save you countless hours!

See https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2013-A9-Using_Components_with_Known_Vulnerabilities.

NOTE: OWASP dependency scanner can be used in conjunction with the victims-enforcer.

Add to your projects pom.xml:

<plugin>
<groupId>org.owasp</groupId>
<artifactId>dependency-check-maven</artifactId>
<version>1.3.4</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<goals>
<goal>check</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>

Each time you build, the plug-in will verify the assets against the list of known vulnerable libraries and report them in your output.

Vulnerability database is populated from: https://nvd.nist.gov.

NOTES:

  1. The example above is a very simple implementation, see the documentation for additional functions.
  2. The first use of the plug-in can take a long time as the vulnerability library must be installed locally before initial use.
  3. Similar functionality is available for Ant builds, if desired.

REFERENCES:

RetireJS javascript libary vulnerability scanning with Maven

It’s important to note that even though your site is using a vulnerable library, that does not necessarily mean your site is vulnerable. It depends on whether and how your site exercises
the vulnerable code. That said, it’s better to be safe than sorry.

I identified this method of using the asset after reading the instructions for the Burp/Gulp scanner from h3xstream after the following section caught my eye:
https://github.com/h3xstream/burp-retire-js#maven-plugin-, it contained a small reference to Maven and even showed output but no configuration for use. A couple of attempts later I came up with the following:

Add to pom.xml:

<build>
<plugins>
<plugin>
<groupId>com.h3xstream.retirejs</groupId>
<artifactId>retirejs-maven-plugin</artifactId>
<version>2.1.0</version>
<executions>
<execution>
<id>scanProjectJavascript</id>
<phase>install</phase>
<goals>
<goal>scan</goal>
</goals>
</execution>
</executions>
</plugin>
</plugins>
</build>

After adding this to your pom.xml, the console output for each build will contain information regarding each vulnerable JavaScript library.

One small problem exists in the current version, use behind corporate firewalls can often be blocked, resulting in an error in the console and use of an older version of the vulnerability library to be used in scans.

Error example:

[ERROR] Exception while loading the repository (Most likely unable to access the internet) java.net.UnknownHostException: raw.githubusercontent.com

See the following for updates:
https://github.com/h3xstream/burp-retire-js/issues/8

See https://www.owasp.org/index.php/Top_10_2013-A9-Using_Components_with_Known_Vulnerabilities.

REFERENCES:

Poodle.. or rather, what’s all the fuss with SSLv3

The “Poodle” attack on websites and browsers was all over the media a few weeks ago, following in the shadow of Heartbleed.

Here’s what most users need to know… This is an vulnerability that exists in secure internet communication because…

  1. While most newer systems rely on TLS security, they still support older protocols (SSLv3 in particular for this issue)
  2. As secure communications generally attempt to find a “common” method, they will often “drop down” to older supported versions (even if they are now often considered insecure!)
  3. Most browser and server software (unless recently patched) will allow for this “drop down” in security.
  4. Most software provides a mechanism to disable this by the user or in configuration.
  5. Upgrading your software will usually remove these “problematic” vulnerabilities.

Simply put… for a consumer, it’s best to upgrade to a newer browser or find the appropriate configuration to disable SSLv3 if you are unable to upgrade. Server administrators generally should update their sofware on a regular basis for security items such as this one!

NOTE: Many CDN’s such as CloudFlare are proactive and block this vulnerability.

Technical details on the Poodle vulnerability (if you’re into that sort of thing!):

Instructions here are for Apache HTTPd 2.2.23 and newer, other servers will require a similar change:


  1. sudo vi /etc/apache2/mods-enabled/ssl.conf
  2. Change the following line from:
    SSLProtocol All -SSLv2
    to:
    SSLProtocol All -SSLv2 -SSLv3
  3. sudo service apache2 reload
  4. sudo service apache2 restart

Can be tested at the following websites:

REFERENCES: